Circuit controller



Dec. 16, 1947.` J, M, WALLACE LAL 2,432,955

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed Aug. 25, 1944 Y INVENTORS James/W. Wallace ,Z

WITNESSES:

Herbert J Cmbbfl 50 4 BY ATTORNE Patented Dec. 16, 1947 CIRCUITCONTROLLER James M. Wallace, Braddock, and Herbert J.

Crabbs, Wlkinsburg, Pa... assignors to Westinghouse ElectricCorporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvaniaApplication August 25, 1944, Serial No. 551,095

12 Claims. (Cl. 20G-44) This invention relates generally to electriccircuit controllers, and more specifically to locking means for electricswitches.

One object of this invention is to provide a l'switch with novel meansfor holding the switch at a plurality of different positions, which iseiicient in operation and relatively simple in construction.

A more specic object of the invention is to provide novel means forreleasably latching a switch in a plurality of different positions,which latching means is adapted to receive locking `means at one or morepositions to positively lock thevswitch against unauthorized operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a double-throw switchhaving two closed circuit positions and an intermediate open circuitposition, with novel means for releasably latching said switch in eachposition arranged to be readily operable to effect automatic latching inthe intermediate position of the switch when the switch is moved fromone closed circuit position, while at the same time being operable in amore dii'licult manner from one closed circuit position to the otherwithout automatic latching at `the intermediate position.

These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof, when taken in connection with the attached drawing,in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a switch housing and aswitch constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view taken through onewall of the switch housing and illustrating the switch actuating meansin elevation, and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section view taken substantially on the lineIII-III of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is illustrated one wall 2 of a switchhousing of conventional type, preferably having the walls thereof ofsheet metal or the like. Within the switch housing there is mounted apair of stationary contact tongues 4 and 5, each mounted on separateinsulators 6 supported within the housing on transversely extendingspaced channel supports 6. At a point intermediate contact tongues and 6a switch blade I0 is rotatably mounted -by means of a rotatableactuating shaft I2, supported in suitable bearings provided on oppositeside walls of the switch housing. Switch blade I0 is mounted on aninsulated portion 9 of shaft I2, and is preferably of the split typehaving spaced sides secured against relative separation at-their outerAendsby a bolt I I, so that when the blade is pivotally moved to engagecontact tongue 4 or 5,- the contact tongue will be received between thesides of split blade I0, with connecting bolt II received in a notch I3Provided in the outer endV ofv each contact tongue. It is to beunderstood, that for multiple phase circuits, duplicate switchbla'deswill be mounted in insulated spaced relation on actuating shaft I2, andcorresponding duplicate sets of contacts 4 and 5 will be mounted in thehousing in a manner well known in the art.

At the outside of the switch housing there is provided an actuatinghandle I4 secured on the ,outer end of actuating shaft I2, in a mannerto be described. Actuating handle I4 is provided with a handgrip I6 atthe outer end thereof rotatably mounted with respect to handle I4, forexample, as on a pivot pin I5 secured to the handle. The handle I4 hassecured at` the inner end thereof a supporting bar I8 which may besecured thereto as by welding or the like. A pin 2i) is provided throughapertures in supporting `bar I8 and actuating shaft I2 to secure thehandle structure for rotation with the shaft. Supporting bar I8 isprovided with a pair of longitudinally spaced openings 22 extendingtherethrough, which are aligned with correspondingly spaced recesses 24of the same size provided in the underside of handle I4. The top wall ofeach recess 24 is provided with a small opening for slidably receiving aplunger rod 26 therein. Each plunger rod 26 is provided with an enlargedhead 28 (see Fig. 3) within opening 22 adapted to engage the top ofrecess 24 when the plunger rod is moved upwardly, as viewed in Figs. 2and 3, to limit upward movement of the rod. To the head 28 of eachplunger rod 26, there is secured a U-shaped bracket 30 adapted toreceive a roller 32 rotatably mounted between the sides of the U- shapedbracket, as by a pivot pin 34. A coil compression spring 36 is providedwithin opening 22 and recess 24, and the spring reacts between U- shapedbracket 30 on the plunger rod, and the upper end of recess 24, tonormally bias the plunger rod downwardly towards wall 2 of the switchhousing. Each plunger rod is provided with a latch handle at its upperend, with the one closest to the actuating shaft I2 having a generallyT-shaped handle 31 secured thereto, for example as by screws 39, withthe cross part of the latch handle extended laterally to one side ofactuating handle I4. The other plunger 26 is provided with a latchhandle 3B, similar in con- 3 struction to latch handle 31, but beingextended to the opposite side of actuating handle I4.

For co-operation with the plungers controlled by latch handles 31 and38, a latch plate 40 is secured to the inner side of housing wall 2, asby screws 4I, at a position at the inner end of actuating handle I4. Asillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, latch plate 40 is providedwith a relatively large opening at one side thereof forming a bearingfor actuating shaft I2, and is provided with three spaced openings 42,44, and' 46 arranged in a line longitudinally of the latch plate. Thesethree openings are aligned with correspondingly spaced openings in Wall2 which. are flared outwardly as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. A coverplate 5U is welded or otherwise secured to the inner side of latchplate. 40 to cover openings 42, 44 and 46.

Switch blade I0 is illustrated in Fig. 1' as being at a positionintermediate contact tongues 4 and 5, and latch handle 31 has plungerroller 32 associated therewith, received in opening 42 being held inthis position by spring 36, to latch actuating handle I4 in the positionillustrated, and thus latch the switch blade at the intermediate opencircuit position illustrated. It will be observed that the` opening 42in housing wall 2 is positioned at the same radius from the axis ofactuating shaft I2 as the actuating plunger associated with latch handle31. On the other hand, openings 44 and 46 in housing wall 2 are providedat the same radius from the axis of actuating shaft I2 as the plungerassociated with latch handle 38. Accordingly, if it is desired to moveswitch blade I0 from its central position' into engagement with contacttongue 4 or 5, itis necessary to retract latch handle 31' by pullingoutwardly thereon, whereby handgrip I6 may be grasped to move actuatinghandle I4. in either direction to rotate actuating shaft I2, and with itswitch blade I0 into engagement with contact tongue 4 or 5. When bladeI0V is fully engaged with contact tongue 4 or 5.. the roler 32associated with latch handle 38 will drop into opening 44 or 46, toautomatically latch the switch in closed-circuit position. At thisposition, latch handle 38 will be depressed whereas latch handle 31 willbe raised to clearly indicate which latch handle must be actuated torelease the switch for movement to a different position.

It will be observed that with the structure described above the handleand latching structure are arranged as an integral unit, and move as aunit in actuating the` switch from one position to another. mounted onthe inner side of housing wall 2 is concealed from view, thus providinga structu-re with a minimum of exposed parts. Another feature. of thisinvention is the provision of both latch structures in duplicate form,since latch handles 31 and 38 are identical in structure, differing onlyin that they are mounted 180 apart on their respective. plunger rods 26.The provision of rollers 32 on the plunger rods. tends to eliminatefriction oi the latch parts in operating the switch as well as.undesirable scraping noises. In operating the switch from one positionto another, it is merely necessary to raise the latch handle which isdepressed, thus leaving the latch plunger associated with the otherlatch handle free to automatically snap into place at the position towhich the switch is actuated. When moving from one closed circuitposition to the other, automatic latching at the intermediate positionwill ordinarily occur. However, if desired, this Furthermore, latchingplate 48- being can be eliminated by holding both latch handles 31 and38 in raised position. This mode of operation is generally not desired,particularly if the switch is used in switching from one feeder toanother, and hence it is rendered relatively dillcult as both latchhandles must be held raised at the same time that the actuating handleI4 is manipulated. As previously pointed out, there is never any doubton the part of the operator as to which latch pin must be raised torelease the switch for operation, because in each of the three positionsof the switch one latch handle will always be depressed and the otherone will always be raised. By having the latch handles 31 and 38 extendlaterally beyond actuating handle I4 in opposite directions, they areeasier to lift without interfering with each other.

InY order to prevent rotation of latch handles 31 and 38 and to lock thelatch handles in a depressed position, there is provided adjacent eachhandle a lock bar 52 which extends outwardly from actuating handle I4,being secured thereto in any desired manner, such as by welding or thelike. Each lock bar 52 is provided with an opening 54 therethroughpositioned to be blocked by the adjacent latch handle in its raisedposition, but adapted to be uncovered when its adjacent latch handle isreceived in an opening 42, 44 or 46. It will be observed that lock bars52 are located close enough to latch handles 31 and 38, respectively, asto prevent rotation thereof, and to therefore hold the handles in thepositions illustrated in Fig. 1 and maintain rollers 32 properlypositioned. Openings 54 in the lock bars when uncovered by the adjacentlatch handle being in a depressed position, may receive a locking meanssu-ch as a padlock or the like, to lock the adjacent latch handle in itsdepressed position, and thereby prevent operation of the switch from anyof its three positions by other than authorized persons. Furthermore,with the construction illustrated, there is never any doubt as to wherethe padlock or other locking means should be inserted, because in eachposition of the switch one hole 54 will be blocked and only one will beunblocked to permit insertion of a locking means therein.

In some cases it may not be desirable to provide for latching or lockingof the switch at an intermediate open position, in this event latchhandle 31 and its associated latch parts together with opening 42 inhousing wall 2 may be omitted.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the particular switch actuatingmeans disclosed herein permits definite latching of a switch in at leastthree positions, in each of which provision is made for locking, as by apadlock or the like. Furthermore, ordinarily in moving from one latchedposition of the switch to another the switch is automatically latched inthe next position to which it is moved, but it is possible by arelatively diiiicult manipulation to move the switch from one closedposition to the other without automatic latching in the intermediateopen-circuit position.

Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention in accordancewith the patent statutes, it is desired that the invention be notlimited to this particular structure, inasmuch as it. will be obvious topersons skilled in the art that many modications and changes may be madetherein without departing from the broad spirit and scopel of theinvention. Accordingly, it is desired that this invention be interpretedas broadly as possible, and that it be limited only as required by theprior art.

We claim as our invention: 1. In a circuit controller, separablecontacts one of which is mounted on a support for movewith said support.

2. In a circuit controller, separable contacts one Vof which is mountedon a support for movement into and out of engagement with the other ofsaid contacts, a manually operable actuating member for said movablecontact, said actuating member having a handle portion, manuallyreleasable means for latching said movable contact at a closed circuitposition where itis in engagement with the other of said contacts,second manually releasable means which is separate from and independentof said first means for latching said movable contact at an open circuitposition, and said latching means being spaced from said handle portionand co-operatively associated with said actuating means and with saidsupport.

3. In a circuit controller, separable contacts one of which is mountedon a support for movement into and out of engagement with the other ofsaid contacts, a manually operable actuating member for said movablecontact, manually releasable means for latching said movable contact ata closed circuit position where it is in engagement with the other ofsaid contacts, second manually releasable means which is separate fromand independent of said iirst means for latching said movable contact atan open circuit position,`said latching means being co-operativelyassociated with said actuating means and with said support, and meanslocated adjacent at least one of said latching means for receivinglocking means to prevent unauthorized release of at least said onelatching means.

4. In a circuit controller, separable contacts one of which is mountedon a support for movement into and out of engagement with the other ofsaid contacts, a manually operable actuating member for said movablecontact, manually releasable means for latching said movable contact ata closed circuit position Where it is in engagement with the other ofsaid contacts, second manually releasable means which is separate fromand independent of said first means for latching said movable contact atan open circuit position, said latching means being co-operative- 1yassociated with said actuating means and with said support, and saidmanually releasable means having hand engaging portions extendinglaterally of said actuating member in opposite directions, respectively.

5. In a circuit controller, spaced contacts mounted on a stationarysupport, a contact member mounted on said support for movement into andout of engagement with said contacts, respectively, a manually operableactuating member for said movable contact member, a pair of separate andindependent manually releasable latch means mounted on said actuatingmember `for co-operation with said support to latch said movable contactmember at a plurality of different positions, one of said latch meansadapted to latch said movable contact member at each of its closedcircuit positions, and the other of said latch means adapted to latchsaid movable contact member at an intermediate open circuit position.

6. In a circuit controller, spaced contacts mounted on a stationarysupport, a Contact member mounted on said support for movement into andout of engagement with said contacts, respectively, a manually operableactuating member for said movable contact member, a pair of manuallyreleasable latch means mounted on said actuating member for co-operationwith said support to latch said movable contact member at a plurality ofdifferent positions, one of said latch means adapted to latch saidmovable contact member at each of its closed circuit positions, theother of said latch means adapted to latch said movable contact memberat an intermediate open circuit position, and means located adjacenteach of said latch means for receiving locking means to preventunauthorized release of said latch means.

7. In a circuit controller, spaced contacts mounted on a stationarysupport, a contact member mounted on said support for movement into andout of engagement with said contacts, respectively, a manually operableactuating member for said movable contact member, a pair of manuallyreleasable latch means mounted on said actuating member for co-operationwith said support to latch said movable contact member at a plurality ofdifferent positions, one of said latch means adapted to latch saidmovable contact member at each of its closed circuit positions, theother of said latch means adapted to latch said movable contact memberat an intermediate open circuit position, and said manually releasablemeans having hand engaging portions extending laterally of saidactuating member in opposite directions.

8. In a switch, contact means mounted on a stationary support, movableswitch blade means and a rotatable actuating shaft for actuating saidblade means into and out of engagement with said contact means, anactuating handle on said shaft, a stationary latch plate located inproximity to said handle, a plurality of latch plungers mounted on saidhandle for movement substantially transversely of said handle toward andaway from said plate, said plungers being biased toward said plate, andsaid plate having a plurality of spaced recesses for receiving saidplungers to latch said blade means at diierent positions thereof.

9. In a switch contact means mounted on a stationary support, switchblade means and a rotatable actuating shaft for actuating said blademeans into and out of engagement with -said contact means, an actuatinghandle on said shaft, a stationary latch plate located in proximity tosaid handle, a plurality of latch pungers mounted on said handle formovement substantially transversely of said handle toward and away fromsaid plate, said plungers being biased toward said plate, said platehaving a plurality of spaced recesses for receiving said plungers tolatch said blade means at different positions thereof, and said plungershaving handgrip portions extending laterally in opposite directions forretracting said plungers,

10. In a switch, contact means mounted on a 7 stationary support, switchblade means and a rotatable actuating shaft for actuating said blademeans into and out of engagement with said contact means, an actuatinghandle on said shaft,

a stationary latch plate located in proximity to said handle, aplurality of latch plungers mounted on said handle for movementsubstantially transversely of said handle to-ward and away from saidplate, said plungers being biased toward said plate, said plate having aplurality of spaced recesses for receiving said plungers to latch saidblade means at dilerent positions thereof, a locking member secured onsaid handle and located in proximity to each of said plungers, each ofsaid locking members having an opening positioned to be blocked by theadjacent plunger when retracted but adapted to be unblocked when theadjacent plunger moves into one of said recesses so as to be capable ofreceiving locking means in a position to prevent unauthorized retractionof the associated plunger.

11; In a switch, spaced contact means mounted on a stationary support,switch blade means and a rotatable actuating shaft for actuating saidblade means into and out of engagement with said contact means, anactuating handle on said shaft, a stationary latch plate located inproximity to said handle, a plurality of latch plungers mounted on saidhandle for movement substantially transversely of said handle toward andaway from said plate, said plungers being biased toward said plate, saidplate having spaced recesses for receiving one of said plungers to latchsaid blade means at each of its closed circuit positions, and anotherrecess in said plate for receiving the other of said plungers to latchsaid blade means at an intermediate Open circuit position.

12. In a switch, a housing, switching means in said housing comprisingcontact means and movable blade means, a rotatable actuating shaft foractuating said blade mean: into and out of engagement with said contactmeans, said shaft extending through an opening in one wall of saidhousing and having an actuating handle thereon at the outside oi saidhousing, a latch plate secured to the inner side of said one walladjacent said opening, a plurality o1" latch pungers movably carried bysaid handle and biased toward said one wall, and said one wall and platehaving openings for receiving said plungers to latch said handle andblade means at diierent positions thereof.

JAMES M. WALLACE. HERBERT J. CRABBS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 985,701 Pfanstiehl Feb. 28, 19111,000,158 Dow Aug, 8, 1911 1,299,257 Stevens Apr. 1, 1919 1,945,775 GuinFeb. 6, 1934 1,335,593 Moll Mar, 30, 1920

